Wind Break
by yellowspotlight89
Summary: ON HIATUS. After Ryoga makes a deal with Ranma and loses, he is forced to give up Akane. However, when the wind-wielding martial artist girl agrees to help Ryoga gain Akane's heart, what happens when the line between "just friends" and love thins? Hell, that's what.
1. The Mistake

Wind Break is here! I hope it spends/wastes your time here in all the best, pleasing, and most possible ways. Review if you most please! I would adore it so!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ryoga nor any of the characters of Ranma, though the plot of this story is all my own.

* * *

_In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,_  
_And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down,_  
_Or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame,_  
_"I am leaving, I am leaving."_  
_But the fighter still remains._  
_-_The Boxer by Paul Simon

* * *

Walking three days straight with not a drop of food or drink is hard work. Especially while hoarding a heavy backpack, an even heavier weapon, and a broken heart.

Ryoga Hibiki, the sorry guy, was living proof.

Everywhere the young male wandered was a blur of sky and mountain. His sense of direction was long gone.

He stumbled forward for half a mile until his sore legs demanded he stop. Ryoga obeyed and let his body rest against a cliff face. This wasn't a good place to stay at all.

Scary things were left to worry about. Scarier than the fact that these cliffs were highly unstable. More frightening than the lack of food, life, or water. No- the scariest thing of all was that Ryoga had time to think.

It was a dangerous sport for him. When he got thoughtful, he went deep. Too deep.

Ryoga's eyes slipped closed. His chest heaved up and down with gentle movements. His every motion was slow and listless.

Death would do him better justice.

But justice was not served, and there he was, lost in high, lofty cliffs.

His whole body was burning.

Because he wanted food. Or maybe water. Anything would do. Steak, tuna, sake, noodles, curry, tofu, a whole Christmas dinner…

Ryoga raised his shirt to peak at his chest. Ribs protruded through his skin. He poked his empty belly. It growled at him. He grumbled back.

He needed someone to blame for this. There had to be some person that he could lay this all onto, besides faulting his lack of direction or general stupidity. It wasn't hard to pick a target. Just the thought of the culprit sparked anger.

Ryoga drilled his fist into the ground.

"I'll kill him..." he spat.

A wind passed by. It flung up his hair and Ryoga looked up with the pressure.

And blinked at what he saw next.

Everything was green. Vivid green. Healthy grass and cherry blossoms spread around him in endless fields. A stream trickled in the distance. Deer and rabbits grazed in fields of bright flowers.

When Ryoga took a step forward in this too-perfect world, a figure instantly appeared. Ryoga's throat clutched at the sight.

Ryoga's heart thumped in his ears. He stopped breathing. The moment was much too great. For there she was, the girl of his dreams.

She stood before him with a smile so bright, that it broke his heart again and again. She wore a simple, sunny dress that flattered her perfectly. Her cropped hair twirled around her face, and a small flush colored her cheeks.

"A-Akane," Ryoga muttered. His fingers stretched forward to touch her.

Then she was gone. All the green grass and trees vanished with her. In place of the fine dream world were the dry, jagged cliffs. A croak rose to Ryoga's throat, and his knees slammed to the ground.

A dream. A stupid fantasy.

He was too tired.

Being lost didn't help. Nor did his ravenous hunger.

He needed out.

Anywhere would do.

He was tired, sore, starving, and hadn't slept in days.

Yet he would take this all and more if he could see Akane again.

He pictured her smile, a beautiful dance on a gorgeous face. He thought of all her traits, the cheerful encouragement, her laughing friendliness.

He wanted so much to look into her eyes. He wished to stare into them again, and fly away into the pure gleam of brown, brown, brown.

A bird cawed from above and the visions melted away.

Ryoga let out a sigh.

"Get it together, Ryoga," he told himself.

But he couldn't turn his thoughts from her. He gave up trying.

"That's it." he said. "I'll see her as soon as I leave this place."

But as soon as he said it, he found his mistake.

He could never see Akane again. Ever. Doing so would hurt too much.

A flare of rage rose in his chest. His eyes narrowed as the memory struck him.

He remembered how it felt to fall at the hands of Ranma Saotome. Again.

And judging Ryoga from the twitch in his brow, and the way his fists curled and uncurled, it didn't feel good at all.

The loss itself meant nothing. Ryoga lost so many times that after some days of torment, he got over it. Defeat was just another tally. Losing her was what killed him.

For Akane Tendo, was no longer his to claim.

Ryoga had undergone months of training for that battle. His strength increased. He'd mastered numerous attacks and counterattacks of many kinds.

He challenged dojos all over Nerima for practice. The dojo signs squeezed in his knapsack boasted his skill. Not even half his strength was needed to succeed in every fight.

And yet, he lost to Ranma.

Ryoga murmured a few curses, and then got to his feet. He stared ahead and saw nothing but the set of colors in the sky.

"I was strong!" He shouted.

His words echoed across the cliff tops. He lowered his head and his eyes softened to the ground.

"I was impossible to beat. But something went wrong."

Tears of rage burned his eyes.

"What does Ranma Saotome have that I don't?"

All his emotions centered around one. The one feeling that said it all.

Regret.

He never learned the rules of look before you leap. He took the all-or-nothing approach in everything. He never compromised, was never satisfied. And months before the battle, he'd come up with a plan. The way to make Akane his.

But his failure only proved him more of a loser than ever.

* * *

"Whoever loses this battle gives up Akane," Ryoga declared.

They stood in the crowded schoolyard. Curious Furinkan students sprinted from all around to watch the encounter.

He gave Ranma a smirk.

"Permanently." He added.

Shouts of wonder bounced through the lot.

Ranma just stood there with narrowed eyes. Then he crossed his arms and gave a snort.

"If she's the deal, I'd rather lose."

Ryoga gave a laugh.

"So forfeit… if you're scared. I don't mind. Just walk quietly home."

That brought giggled through the crowds.

Ranma's cheeks warmed, and he stomped his foot to the ground.

"No," he snarled. "I never turn down a battle."

Then, coolly, he added, "Even if the prize is brick woman Akane."

Nothing followed after that because Akane, who'd just sauntered past, heard her name. One punch brought Ranma flying through the air.

"Brick woman that!" she shouted.

It was apparent she missed the terms of their battle as she walked in; as usual, she only heard the insult.

The boys met seven days after the issued challenge. Ryoga had wandered off and only then rediscovered the schoolyard.

Once he got there, Ranma was ready. School had long let-out. A late glow of sunlight stretched across the pavement. Ranma waited, perched on a wall, having camped out at the school all week for this.

He was taking this as seriously as Ryoga.

He noticed the lost boy roving through nearby fields. He ran towards him.

"Yo!" He called out.

He spun Ryoga around. Ryoga blinked, surprised.

"Got lost again, bud? Good thing I was smart enough to hang around here."

Ryoga growled and threw a punch at Ranma. Ryoga's fist brought up the strands of Ranma's hair. He'd barely slipped out of the way.

"I'm not here for jokes," Ryoga said. "Let's settle this."

And they fought, the sunlight gleaming beside them. Bystanders peaked out from windows at the fight. Bystanders cried out at the sight of fast fists and loud grunts.

Ryoga didn't hold back, launching strong kicks and punches at Ranma non-stop.

Ranma darted wildly from Ryoga's advances and he avoided all the hits. But he quickly grew tired and couldn't dodge forever.

Ryoga's breathing was even, hardly stressed from the fight.

At a fury of punches, Ranma worked his hardest to leap out of the way of each launch. Ryoga broke out each hard jut with no break.

Then the one instant Ranma slowed, Ryoga landed a punch straight into his chest. It sent Ranma skidding across the dirt.

Ranma lied on the ground, twitching, and a bloody cough bubbled from his chest. He stayed like that for a full minute.

Ryoga chuckled as the hope of feat inflated his throat. He stood over Ranma.

"I really thought you'd provide more of a challenge than that," he said to him. Then he smirked.

"I guess not."

He began to turn away, just as Ranma leapt to his feet.

Ryoga felt a thick, heated aura burn the back of his neck. He quickly turned around.

Ranma was engulfed in red. It was as if fire leapt off his skin.

When Ranma stepped towards Ryoga, he felt a shiver. Ranma was dangerous.

But Ryoga kept a high chin, his fists high.

"Well," he said. "Done with your nap?"

Ranma's hair hid his eyes. Then after a moment's silence, he spoke.

"Never, underestimate me." He said. And he launched.

Ryoga leaned away but it was too late; he was caught in Ranma's grasp. Ranma's punches broke into his face and body.

Ryoga was covered in blood by the time he gained enough strength to kneel Ranma hard in the chest. Ranma folded over.

Ryoga gathered himself from the ground, and limped over to Ranma, landing three jolts in his side.

But Ranma surprised him.

He lurched upward, quick and smooth as silk. Ryoga was too hurt, too slow to avoid it, and Ranma's hard, fierce head butt shot straight through Ryoga's belly.

He let out a cry as his body ejected through the air. He dropped hard into the dirt.

The dent on that land would remain there for days, until the rain filled it up and washed the spot with grime and clay.

Ryoga tried to stand. It was a foolish act. He stumbled over immediately and fell flat into the dirt.

At first he lay there silent. Then as the battle wounds permeated through him, he let out a deep, gurgled cry.

"I…lost." He muttered to the ground. His face remained in the dust.

Time passed, and he didn't move. Ranma finally approached the fallen Ryoga and carefully laid a hand to his shoulder.

"Ryoga," he said. "You alright?"

"Don't touch me."

Ranma drew back his hand, but didn't move from his side.

"It doesn't have to be this way." He said.

"You can keep chasing the tomboy. See if I care."

Ryoga winced, and forced out his next words.

"A deal is a deal."

Ranma chewed his lip.

"Are you sure?"

"A deal is a deal." he repeated.

Ranma raised a hand, then let it drop.

"Okay." he said, and stood. "It's official."

And he walked away, leaving Ryoga to mend his broken pride.

Though Ryoga's strength was great, Ranma's speed surpassed all. His quick moves and swift punches were too much for Ryoga. And so he failed.

This deal was slowly killing him.

"His speed." Ryoga grunted. "His speed is all I lack. If I were faster, I'd beat Ranma. But it's too late now."

And it was.

He had no choice but to say good-bye. Days after the loss, Ryoga wandered into a forest and then passed through a swamp, the countryside, and a travelling circus, until he ended up on these rocky cliffs.

He couldn't find his way out.

And after using all provisions, he was famished and tired.

This was truly defeat.

Ryoga threw himself against a rock and let out a call of distress.

"Akane!" he called to the late afternoon. Birds squawked in reply. He sighed, letting his head fall and his thoughts wander.

'I've been travelling for days, trying to clear my head, but I find them jumbled as they began.'

Ryoga sighed and wiped a falling bead of sweat from his forehead. He thought back to his last moments with Akane.

They passed quickly. On his way to the Tendo house he had encountered the Cat Café and walked in silently, ignoring the stares of Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne. There he sprayed himself with water and hurried off as a little black piglet, his bandana flying in the wind.

When he finally made it to Akane's by nightfall, she welcomed him happily.

"P-Chan!" she called, and smiled at her small friend.

He squeaked and then leapt into her arms, tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong, P-Chan?" Akane gasped.

She hugged him to her chest and P-Chan's little heart went pounding.

He sunk into her comfortably just as a shadow loomed above him.

P-Chan looked up to see the smiling Ranma. A crazy grin marked his face.

P-Chan glared and squeaked at the pig-tailed boy.

"Forgetting something, 'P-Chan?" Ranma said, and poked the piglet.

Akane whacked him away.

"Leave him alone!" she demanded.

Ranma chuckled and the piglet hid his face between Akane's chest.

"Hey!" Ranma said, snatching him from Akane and dangling the pig from his scarf.

"Watch it, Ryoga." He whispered. "It looks like your deal needs some reinforcing."

Though he hated it, Ranma was right.

Ryoga couldn't let himself fall away from what he had sworn by written oath.

Before Akane could swipe him from Ranma's grasp, the piglet freed himself and skipped through the yard and into the blackened night.

"Come back, P-chan!" she called.

He knew he could not obey. And with tears in his eyes, he ran.

* * *

Ryoga was unsatisfied.

Not only was he frustrated at losing Akane, but Ranma had to rub it in. He didn't even let him finish a proper goodbye. He suspected the jerk was more protective of Akane then he let on.

Ryoga dug into his bag and pulled out a paper. He scanned the words of the deal, written in his careful calligraphy.

'_I, Ryoga Hibiki, will give up my pursuit of Akane Tendo if this battle against Ranma Saotome is lost.'_

There was no mistake.

Ryoga sighed.

He needed someone to blame for his agony, and Ranma was his favorite target.

Ryoga stood up and wandered between the cliffs. He used his breaking point to blast out the rocks as he passed. He pretended they were Ranma's jaw.

"Dammit!" Ryoga hissed. He pulverized a rock with his bare fist.

He let his body sink to the ground, his head held down, defenseless.

"You're a sorry sight," said a voice.

Ryoga looked up with a snap. He glared around.

"Who was that?"he said.

"Do you see me?" the voice asked. There was a tease in the tone.

His muscles tensed.

He didn't recognize this voice. It was someone new. Someone female.

Ryoga leapt to his feet and looked around. He bent into a fighting stance.

Then a breeze lifted his hair. He looked up towards a high platform of a cliff above.

And then he saw her.

She was looking at him with soft eyes, but something in her face was not so soft. Was it her eyebrows, curved in at him, as if he was the one in question? Or was it that smile she wore, so alluring yet mocking?

Ryoga never saw her in his life, yet she sat there, so casual, as if they'd been friends for years.

Her legs were open wider than was proper for a girl, and her arms dropped between them. The girl looked at ease on the perch of the cliff edge. He didn't trust it one bit.

Ryoga raised an eyebrow, but stood his ground. She waited. His patience was thin. He lifted his fist up to where she sat.

"Are you seeking a fight?" he grumbled.

Her giggle curled down to his ears.

"How forward. And we just met." She said, and then leapt from the high platform.

She soared down like wind circled her feet. A wild grace swirled about her movements.

Ryoga leapt back.

"You're quick." He noted. His brows furrowed. His arms slightly lowered.

"So they say." she said, with a grin.

Nerves tingled up his spine.

This wasn't good. His recent battle was lost to the quickness he lacked. He felt wounded by speed.

She stood a few feet before him within the space. She curved her head to the side as she stared at his face.

And then he noticed the eyes.

He'd never seen that color in his life. In flowers and morning skies, maybe, but never in a pair of eyes. The color was bright, eccentric, and unusual. They could only be described as violet.

Nothing about her felt normal.

Just to prove him right, she took one step forward and was instantly beside him.

Ryoga stepped back. His stare was hard on her.

"What are you?" He demanded.

The girl just chuckled.

"Human. If that's what you're wondering."

Life couldn't get any stranger.


	2. Beware Falling

Ryoga stared at the girl. His fists were raised to his chest, yet his shoulders slacked.

She appeared tall, the way she stood with her head upright. In truth, she hardly reached his shoulder. Her features were distinct, yet soft. Earth-colored hair skimmed down to her sides and moved with a gentle wind that surrounded her movements.

Before he allowed himself to take in her lips, rounded towards him, Ryoga turned his gaze. When the girl flipped her lithe, cutely shaped body into his sight again, he shut his eyes.

The girl tilted her head.

Ryoga's mind darted with questions.

_Who is this girl? Can she lead me out of here? And what's up with her, anyways? It's like…like air is floating off her._

He turned to her again.

She paced before him now, her movements breezy. It might have resembled a hunter circling prey, but her floaty steps made it look like a dance.

If Ryoga was too warm from all the hunger and walking, he no longer felt it. The sight of another human face, plus the sudden winds gave him energy. His eyes brightened to his sights. His body felt looser, more liquid.

Ryoga jumped back to attention. The girl had stopped pacing.

"You said you're human," Ryoga said. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and then dropped his arms. "You sure about that?"

Her eyes twinkled.

"I'll take that as flattery." She said. She smiled that small, skillful grin. "Glad to know you're interested."

Ryoga froze for a beat and then his cheeks filtered with color.

"No, no." he said. He waved his hand. "I could care less what you are. It's only nice to know the species of what I come up against. You're just… strange."

Then something shattered.

Her shoulders stiffened. The teasing smile she wore thinned into vapor. Her lips formed a scowl that belonged to a doll. Then as quickly as this passed, her face was clear.

"Damn. Damn." She muttered. She hit a hand to her forehead and started back and forth again.

Ryoga scratched his head, and then frowned.

"Uh- I didn't mean-" he said.

"Not a problem." She said, and faced him.

"That was a test, if anything. I'm supposed to keep all my feelings in check at all times, you know. I mess up more than I win. The act from before might explain why you didn't think me human. Perhaps I overdid it."

She giggled and kicked up dust with her feet.

"Guess that all lasted for a good five minutes. Though you could be nicer, you know."

Ryoga stood there, and then slowly nodded.

"I'll be going then. Good luck with your…pursuits."

Ryoga secured his bag to his shoulders and grabbed hold of his umbrella.

"That was weird," Ryoga mumbled. "Oh, well. I have enough to think about."

With a new burst of energy, he dragged on his way. His thoughts roamed back on course.

_'There has to be some way I can soothe my heart. If only I could just see Akane.'_

Before his thoughts went far, he suddenly fell back.

The girl was right in his path.

He stopped steps away from smashing into her.

"Hey, would you stop doing that?" Ryoga shouted.

He backed away, his cheeks reddening.

The girl laughed.

"Whoops."

"For someone who isn't supposed to show true emotions..." Ryoga started.

Then there was a growl.

Both looked around for the source. The growl erupted again, along with a strange gargling.

The girl's eyes flashed to Ryoga. Ryoga's eyes flashed to his stomach.

"Someone's hungry." She said.

"Not really," Ryoga grunted.

He shouldered past her, but the girl skipped forward to keep up.

"I could help out, you know." She said.

"I'm not hungry. I have to go."

His stomach grumbled again, this time bringing a hunger pang. He bent at his waist and clutched his stomach.

The girl smiled. He was beginning to resent that smile.

"You hungry yet?" she asked.

A series of emotions passed Ryoga's face, and then he sighed.

"A little," he mumbled. "Well then? You have something to eat?"

"I don't." She admitted. "But I have ways of getting things."

Then she dropped to the ground. She crossed her legs and pressed her hands onto her knees.

Ryoga folded his arms and looked her over. His stomach gargled in the silence.

He raised an eyebrow at her clothes. She wore a cinnamon colored top that flowed past the thighs. Her pants cut off at the ankles. Her dusty moccasins looked glued to her feet.

"Hard traveler."Ryoga murmured.

The girl's eyes stayed shut and her eyebrows twitched.

'_She looks confused,"_ he thought. _'Or constipated.'_

Then a wind broke between them. The girl was at her feet before Ryoga saw her stand.

"Follow me." She instructed.

Then she leapt onto the edge of a jagged cliff.

Ryoga obliged with a jump onto the same platform she stood.

Once he got there, she leapt nonstop to each cliff ledge. Her lead brought them higher and deeper into the mass of cliffs.

After a minute of this, Ryoga dropped behind.

"Wa-wait!" He called. "Where are you?

The girl looked down to see Ryoga below her. He wandered in a circle and looked frantically about.

Her eyes widened, and then she burst into laughter.

"Up here! You're right on my tail! How'd you get lost?"

Ryoga glared at her.

"I'm not that quick, okay?" he grumbled. He took a firm leap onto the ledge she stood.

The land was hard. Too hard. In seconds the rock beneath them crumbled. They cried out as they flew downwards.

In a split second, Ryoga took hold of the girl's arm and leapt onto a new ledge.

He was used to danger. He'd fallen from many cliffs and ledges due to his lack of direction.

They froze once they reached the new ledge.

She smirked at him.

"I'm faster on my own feet, you know." She said.

"Yeah, yeah." Ryoga mumbled.

He didn't consider the incredible speed she demonstrated only minutes earlier; he ran on instinct to save himself. And okay, her.

She leapt ahead of him onto the next rock. Just when her feet smacked onto the earth, the rocks groaned beneath her. She wobbled forward as the cliff face trembled.

"Wa-woah!" she cried.

"What are you doing? Jump off!" Ryoga shouted.

"I-I'm thinking about it!" she said. "I-I'm just deciding where!"

Then the ground burst into pebbles.

Ryoga rocketed forward just in time to lift the girl into his arms. He bounced from rock ledge to ledge as each one crumbled beneath his feet. The girl screamed the whole way. If their lives weren't in danger, he would have dropped her long ago.

"Won't die, won't die, won't die." She chanted, her eyes pressed shut.

He stopped when they reached a level pathway.

The girl was quiet. She had a hand at her heart as she took in air.

"Weak rocks," she mouthed.

Their eyes meet at the same instant. Ryoga became too aware that he pressed her against his chest.

A mix of coolness and warmth all at once filled Ryoga. It felt strange, new, and scary. He stiffened.

The girl wasted no time. She detangled from his grip and bounced onto her feet.

Ryoga's arms slumped to his sides. His breath passed shallow from his throat.

He threw off his bag and dropped his umbrella to the dirt. His body folded in stretching pain. Ryoga thought he heard the girl ask him something, but his brain was far, far away.

_'There you have it, Ryoga.'_ He said inwardly. _'You're dead now.'_

Just as he gave a weak grunt, the girl pointed a finger his direction.

"Did you hear me?" she said.

Her image blurred before his eyes.

"What? What did you ask?"

"Your name." she said.

He looked up at the female. Her purple eyes were firm on his face. Her hair was aglow in the sunset. The sight confused his vision.

"Hibiki, Ryoga." He uttered.

Then he let out a cough and fell to his knees. Hard coughs broke his chest.

The girl lingered above him. She brought her face to his level and she stared at him silently. She let him spill out his breath.

When his coughs grew silent, she spoke.

"Carraway. Violet, to you."

His eyes shifted into darkness. Ryoga gave in to the dust.


	3. Surprises

Ryoga's eyes opened to blackness. A dull, clotted sensation hung over his eyelids. He scanned the darkness.

Ryoga sighed.

"Maybe I'm dead." He said. "Those cliffs mighta bested me."

A glow rose into his vision.

Heaven?

Orange and red spiraled before him and he strained to lift his head, wincing from the tightness in his muscles. He soothed his dry lips with saliva, but his stomach remained unsatisfied.

Ryoga stared at the glow. He angled forward from the ground and then finally made out what it was.

Fire.

Ryoga leaned towards the flames to let the heat work through his pallid cheeks and thoughts. His eyes lowered with the thick warmth.

Then something shifted in the shadows.

This was no ordinary approach. The figure walked forward with its aura obscured. Ryoga knew it was hard to close in on a martial artist unless you had fellow practice in the arts. His shoulders cracked as he straightened his body from a crouch.

Ryoga made out the lines of a waist and the curve of hips, though the features were shaded by the dark. His gaze flickered up as the figure merged into the light.

"Violet," he said. It slipped out like a lost thought that had found its way to the front of his mind. If all the events of his long days of travel and deprivation were lost, the fluorescent eyes were not forgotten.

'She's weird.' He thought. "Really weird."

"Awake, are we?" Violet smiled. She took in his pale face then stepped towards the fire.

As she passed, he caught a scent on her.

He smelled death.

Violet stooped near the flames, then jabbed a stick into a fire.

She worked the branch so far into the blaze that the heat smoldered ro her face, painting her forehead with a sheen of sweat.

Ryoga, with the prick of pain and some curses, stood.

He glanced at the fire.

Thick pieces of wood stuck inside it. A dark liquid ran down the sides of the planks.

'Dojo signs.' Ryoga thought.

He figured those challenges were of use after all, even if they didn't help him beat Ranma. He peeked sideways at his things shoved against a boulder. Ryoga grabbed his umbrella.

"You're going to set yourself on fire that way." He said, walking towards the girl.

"I'm making it bigger," she explained, struggling with the branch.

Ryoga took the point of his umbrella and stabbed it through the flames. He gracefully kindled the wood. Violet watched.

Even if he was eternally lost, surviving just about everything gave him skills to help make up for his injured sense of travel.

Finally, with more kindling, the fire sparked and flames reached towards the sky.

"That's the way." Ryoga said.

Violet's eyes brightened at the high flames. Ryoga had no time to be smug when his eyes caught on the blaze trailing up the end of her stick.

"Let that- " he started, just as a lick of heat touched her hand. She tripped backwards and flung the stick from her hand.

After the shock subsided, she turned to Ryoga.

"Ow." She said.

Ryoga eyed the charred skin on her palm. He waited for her tears.

There were none.

Instead, she smiled.

Not only smiled, but Violet doubled over in laughter. Her gulping chuckles went on and on.

Slowly, Ryoga grinned. He didn't know why she found this funny, but her strange, hiccupping laugh made him smirk.

When she finally could speak without gurgling, her eyes flashed to him. The bright, bright color shocked him all over again.

"Fire doesn't like me," she explained. "Nor does earth, water, wood, or metal." She counted off the enmities on her fingers.

She got to her feet and stood before Ryoga.

Her gaze flickered to the ground for a beat, then with a new resolve back onto his face.

She spoke low.

"You're probably dying to know just what I am."

Her eyes were light and open. Void of challenge, but exceptionally alert. Ryoga could only think that they were very clear.

"Not exactly dying, but go on." He scratched his head, his smile curling up nervously.

'Perhaps she really is some alien.' He suggested.

Violet held out her hands and then enfolded them backwards into the surrounding darkness. When she swept them forward, a strong wind gusted from her fingers, tossling Ryoga's hair and clothes.

He stepped back when a large object rose to view.

Ryoga gasped at the beast floating in the air by no means of touch. It had a tan fur and a long, deep slash in its side. The wind roughened, and Ryoga fended his face with his arms.

Violet's eyes shined as she shifted the direction of the gusts with a turn of her fingers.

She closed her eyes as she raised the beast high above the fire, then drew up her hands.

She worked in rapid movements. Her arms were a blur, moving quick yet smooth, like the grace of a conductor. Then she stopped her movements. Her arms dropped to her sides.

Ryoga watched as the animal dropped to the fire. The whole of it was chopped into pieces.

He stared.

Small heaves rose at Violet's chest.

"Mountain lion is tough meat," she explained.

The wild aroma of the roasting meat hit Ryoga's nostrils. He had no other sense but hunger.

He salivated for the animal; his stomach tightened for the meat that coiled with the flames of the fire.

After a few minutes of Ryoga's drooling, Violet said the magic words.

"Eat up."

She tossed him a branch.

She raised her hands over the fire and lifted the steaming meat into the air.

When she'd plucked a thick chunk onto Ryoga's end of the stick, he dug in without hesitating.

His teeth clobbered at the meat. His teeth had grinded through rougher things than this. It was nothing for him.

Violet eyes danced over the sight.

"Don't lie if you hate it." She laughed, then ripped into her own serving.

"It's good, thanks." Ryoga mumbled between bites. He was already on his second helping.

Violet laughed.

"And if you're thirsty, we're in luck." She paused, glancing up.

"It's raining."


	4. Clash

_"And if you're thirsty, we're in luck." She paused, glancing up._

_"It's raining."_

* * *

Ryoga froze.

It was the worse reaction to have from the news, but it was all he could do.

A lump of the hot mountain meat slowly lugged down his throat.

Then he acted.

Ryoga climbed to his feet and staggered from the fire. He lunged towards his backpack with a desperate stumble. There he dug through his things, tossing empty noodle cups, toothpaste, blankets, and bandanas all around. Then he saw what he longed for.

Ryoga struggled to unbolt the thick, red umbrella, until finally, it opened. He drew it over his head, panting from his work.

When he looked up again, he noticed Violet, gaping at him. Her eyes bulged.

"So you're not thirsty." She said.

Ryoga opened his mouth, slammed it shut, and then sputtered the first words that came to mind.

"I don't want to get wet. These are my only change of clothes."

Ryoga nodded to himself, pleased with his answer.

"No change of clothes," she said. Her voice was loud, close to his ear. "Really?"

Ryoga jumped.

She was right beside him. He hadn't even seen her move.

Her face leaned into his, like a doctor examining a spot.

His eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, really." he answered.

A smile lifted to her lips.

"Then what's this?"

She brought a bundle into view. A pale yellow shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Dark blue pants that looked worn and comfortable. They were his.

Ryoga glared at her. He snatched the clothes from her hands.

"Do you mind?" Ryoga said, his face red. "Why are you so nosy, anyways?"

Violet giggled.

"I couldn't help it."

"And why not?"

She straightened her posture and put a hand on her hip.

"While you were tearing through your stuff, you threw your clothes right in my face."

Violet leaned into Ryoga's face and poked his nose.

"Smarty."

He was speechless. A warm blush spread across Ryoga's cheeks.

She had no right to make him blush.

'I'm a sensitive creature!' he thought. 'I-I can't handle this! I'm shy enough around Akane!'

The name. It flooded in a stream of memories. Of his loss, his sadness.

He would never see her again.

The fact that he couldn't act, couldn't even_ try_ to admit his feelings for her, haunted him. Plus, the written deal would prove impossible to keep if he saw her again. He'd want so bad to have Akane, to stand near her, to somehow get her to look at him with more than friendship and pity. But he couldn't now.

It almost shattered his heart of glass.

And the hardest part was that he didn't want to move on.

He looked past the girl in front of him, his eyes a dreary glaze.

After a long minute of this, Violet waved a hand in his face.

"Hello?" she said. "You awake?"

Ryoga didn't blink.

Violet took up to circling him. She examined the dazed boy as he stared off into space.

Just as Ryoga's thoughts brought him onto a scene of embracing Akane under a bright bed of stars, there was a hard snap.

He yelped.

The umbrella flew from his grasp. Ryoga darted forward with his hands on his backside.

He rubbed his rear, and stared at Violet.

"What the heck was that!" he shouted.

Violet's eyes grew wide.

"Making sure you're alive. You looked dead."

"And what in the heck did you do?"

"Gave you whiplash." said Violet.

Ryoga looked irritated.

"I'll show you!" she said.

Violet snapped her fingers and flung them forward. Ryoga watched as a thin line of air expanded from her fingertips. The wind struck against a rock. It whined and swiftly cracked right in half.

Ryoga's mouth dropped.

"You did…"

"Not that hard, of course!"

"How about not hitting me at _all_, okay?"

Violet poked Ryoga's sore spot.

"Does that hurt?"

"YES!" he screamed.

"Oops. Sorry, sorry!" Violet said.

She heaved a twig of meat at him.

"Mountain lion?"

Ryoga didn't speak. His thick bangs shadowed his eyes. Then his shoulders began to tremble. The stick dropped from his hands.

"This is madness." Ryoga said. His voice was low.

"It was just a joke." Violet said. "Did it hurt that bad?"

Ryoga looked up. His eyes were dark.

"That pain? It's long past. But the other pain I deal with, it won't fade so easily."

Violet scratched her head.

"What pain? Did you hit your head on something?"

Ryoga gritted his teeth.

"Don't mock me! It's a pain deep in my soul. You wouldn't understand."

"I could try." she said.

"Well…"

Ryoga stopped himself when he met her eyes. They were soft on him. The fluorescent color of her pupils made his head whirl. He couldn't get over the strangeness of them, even if they were sort of nice.

He shook his head.

'I can't trust her.' He thought. 'Those eyes. They aren't normal. She can't be human.'

Violet cleared her throat. She gave an edgy smile.

"You were saying?" she asked.

"I was saying that for all I know, you could be some murderer. Or alien! I don't think I should tell you my past."

Violet blinked. She waved her hands out defensively.

"I'm human!" She exclaimed. "And I haven't killed…much."

Ryoga's face looked petrified.

Violet chuckled.

"Joking, i'm joking! You're so gullible, Ryoga."

He jumped at the mention of his name.

"See. You have my name. You already know too much."

"What? You told me yourself!"

"For all I know, you could have used your alien skills to get it out of me."

Violet rolled her eyes.

"Or my murderer talents. Killers are pretty clever, you know."

"So you admit to being a psychopath!"

Violet couldn't believe it. She couldn't think it a joke; his face looked too serious.

"Where are you spewing this garbage from?" she asked. "A girl gives you a wedgie and suddenly she's a psycho?"

Ryoga looked undignified.

"I can think of a lot of other reasons for me to think you're a psycho."

Violet's eyes, so vividly colored, suddenly brightened. They were livid, like bright, angry paint.

Ryoga's own gaze widened.

Violet stamped her foot against the cliff. Luckily, the ground didn't break into pieces.

"I saved you!" Violet cried.

She aimed a finger towards the fire. By now, the lion meat left in the flames was burnt to a crisp.

"And so did I!" Ryoga said.

Violet narrowed her eyes. She crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"And did I need your help? No! If you didn't notice, I'm faster than you!"

"You rub that in a lot, don't you? I know you're fast, yeah, yeah. But obviously you don't think fast enough because those rocks would have been your death if I hadn't grabbed you!"

"Your clumsy feet set off all those falls!"

Ryoga puffed. She was right. He did land on each cliff surface a little too hard. But he couldn't admit defeat. His eyes scanned for something to insult. She looked small, furious, and yet… cute.

Ryoga wasn't willing to dwell on that. No woman could compare to Akane's composure and beauty.

But he almost gave up on finding her faults until his gaze found her feet. They weren't dainty. Her feet strained against her shoe's worn material. They were just too small for her. It was the perfect insult.

"My clumsy feet? Just look at your feet! They're huge!"

Violet's mouth dropped. Her face flushed, and she glared.

"I've had these feet for all my life! I know they're huge! What does that have to do with the fact that everything bad that happened was your fault?"

"My fault!" Ryoga shouted.

"Yes, your fault!"

Ryoga chuckled darkly.

"I should have let you fall off that cliff when I had the chance. You're so _fast _and all."

Violet gasped, then her lip rose to the side.

"Now who's the psycho?" she said. "You idiot!"

"What? You're the idiot! Idiot idiot idiot! With big feet!"

"Well, it was your big feet that set off all those cliffs, bandana boy!"

"So now you've put my bandanas into this? You don't know me _or_ my bandanas!"

"And you don't know me _or_ my big feet!"

"I never wanted to! But you insisted on following me!"

Violet's cheeks flamed.

"Because I thought you needed help!" She shouted. Her vivid eyes shone with tears.

Ryoga felt a twinge in his heart.

"Well," he said, quietly. "I didn't ask for your help."

Violet wiped her tears with an arm.

"Yeah?" she said. "Well, if I could go back in time, I would have kept going. I'd have ignored you completely!"

"I wish you would have!" he screamed. "And you know what else?"

"What!" Violet shouted.

Violet's fists were balled so tight that her fingertips indented into her palms.

"It's not raining!" Ryoga cried.

Violet was shocked. She'd forgotten all about that. It was the reason they started arguing in the first place.

She lifted her face to the sky. It was dark. It was gray. And it was dry.

A long moment passed, and then she met his eyes.

"Oh," she said. "So it isn't."

It was Ryoga's turn to ball his fists.

"Then why did you say it was?" he demanded.

Violet turned to him. The vivid color in her eyes transcended back to normal.

"I never said it wouldn't." She said, and shrugged. "Maybe it will."

Ryoga snorted.

"Maybe it will," he repeated.

"My elemental senses aren't exactly perfect, you know." Violet snapped.

There was an awkward silence. Ryoga rocked on his heels.

"So you do some martial arts." Ryoga said.

"True." Violet answered.

She stepped forward a little, closing the space between herself and Ryoga.

"I'm from the school of Elemental Martial Arts. We employ the elements in our training. Earth, fire, water, wind…It's kind of basic, and it's totally human." Then she added, "In other words, I'm no alien."

Ryoga nodded.

"And yet…" he started.

"Yes?" Violet asked.

"You can't really tell when it's raining."

She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm working on it. Give me a break."

"Your senses are that off?"

Violet looked him straight in the eye.

"Yes." She said. "They are."

Then she twisted away and stared into the fire.

Ryoga eyed her for a moment, and then glanced into his lap.

He crossed the line.

You can talk about a person's face, their clothes, even their feet, but a martial artist should never slight another's skill. Especially a girl. He got so caught in his fear of the rain. So lost in it that he grew angry. Plus, the fact that Akane was out of reach stressed him.

'I really was an idiot.' He thought. "I'm turning in Ranma. The jerk's cruelty must have rubbed off on me."

Violet's voice broke his guilt trip.

"What's up with you and rain, anyway?" She asked quietly.

"I just don't like getting wet." He answered. "That's all."

"Honest?" Violet prodded. "You sure you don't turn into some sort of creature in the rain?"

Ryoga's jaw dropped.

"Cre-creature?" he stuttered. "I don't turn into any creature!"

Violet smiled. It was mischievous.

"I bet you do," she said. "I bet you change."

Ryoga's breath caught.

"Change?" Ryoga stammered. "I don't know what you're talkin… how'd you uh, I,uh…I'm…"

Ryoga continued blabbering until Violet's gaze shut him up.

She opened her mouth, but didn't speak. Instead, she burst out laughing.

She couldn't control it. The girl doubled over in hiccupped chortles. She waved her hand out to steady herself.

"Honestly," Violet said between gasps of laughter. "There's so many strange things in the world. But that- that's impossible."

Ryoga's face reddened.

'At least she didn't catch on.' He thought.

After the flame from his cheeks died, he forced out a laugh.

But as the sounds of her laughter echoed through his ears, it got to him. Her goofy gulping made something spring inside his chest. His weak laugh became a natural flow of chortles.

And they laughed and laughed, Violet bent at her waist and Ryoga heartily chuckling beside her. Then something interrupted Violet's laughter.

She looked up.

"Now," She started, her face brightening. "It _is_ raining."

Ryoga's limbs blasted with ice.

In that moment, one cold, cold, drop of rain fell onto his nose.

Then the ground suddenly filled with splatters of raindrops.

A surge of panic rose in his heart. Ryoga scrambled to his feet and tore his eyes across the rocky plains.

He needed his umbrella. Fast.

"Where are you, where are you?" he murmured.

Then he spotted it .The umbrella laid shielded under the dark.

It was a short ways off, and he started towards it. But he was slow.

His body was too sluggish, drained from all the worry and arguing. He thought maybe he should have taken that last offer of mountain meat.

And as Ryoga's hands reached for his umbrella, it was too late.

He cried out as the rain pelted his shoulders. Horror broke through his mind as he felt his arms shrink through his clothes. The pounding of the hard drizzle raged down on his head, mocking him.

Ryoga tried to use his voice. He squeaked.

Then the body evaporated into the round, black shape of a piglet.

Ryoga, now P-Chan, hid in one of his shirt sleeves as he thought of what to do.

He hated fate.

Ryoga was weak now. Weak, and a pig.

And in front of Violet. The girl who just got done laughing at the impossibility of something like this. What will she think now? He guessed she'd be more open.

But this was bad. And too late.

He couldn't hide the curse now. Ryoga's best option was to get human, and fast.

Who knew if the girl might want some roasted pork to push down that lion meat?

He always wondered if his life might be easier if he turned into something uglier, less cute and appetizing.

"I need hot water." He squeaked in pig.

The layers of clothes over his body made him feel safe. He feared emerging from his cover.

But he sucked in his nerve. Then he ventured from the sleeve and into the darkness.

The fire was barely breathing. It smoldered low, smothered from the rain.

P-Chan glanced back and forth, in a series of frantic squeaks.

Then finally, he let out a breath. His mind floated with relief.

Violet was gone.


End file.
